Spider Lilies
by weiweidonai
Summary: As the war rages on, Shikamaru and Temari were given a rare moment of privacy when Shikamaru becomes injured. A little peek into their relationship but how does the legend of the Spider Lily relate to Shikatema?


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. They belong to Kishimoto sensei.

The tent smelt of blood sweat and grief. Temari didn't want to go in there, but her feet had unconsciously brought her to the door of the tent. Lifting the flap door a little to peek inside, she saw the pink haired medical-nin frantically running about while shouting at a few of the other medics. Scanning over the beds, she saw what made her come.

"Shikamaru is on the far left corner," said Sakura as she rushed pass Temari but not before patting her lightly on the shoulder and whispering "he'll be fine."

Temari shoulder finally relaxed a little for the first time since she heard of Shikamaru's injuries 3 days ago along with Gaara's message telling her to rest from battle for a few days. It's nice being the Kazekage and commander's sister for once.

Slowly making her way to Shikamaru's bed on the other side of the tent, he didn't look as bad as she had imagined. When the messenger delivered the news, Temari was helping "cleaning up the battlefield". Some of the bodies made the tough Kunoichi want to vomit. Naturally she thought worst of Shikamaru's injuries. She could not imagine his body among those lying on the ground.

.

Shikamaru's head felt heavy, but nothing could block out the faint smell of flowers coming closer. Immediately he knew it was Temari. That's the funny thing about her. Others believed she was a tomboy, why with her giant, deathly fan and absolute no mercy for the opponent, it's no surprise. She was brought up by that crazy father who saw his children as pawns and only saw her femininity as a weakness.

Of course, Shikamaru knew better than that. Her femininity was very subtle. During her time in Konoha as the ambassador, she often hung out with him in his favorite spot beside a patch of red spider lilies. He would catch her looking longingly into the lily patched while he pretended to be cloudgazing. Temari always complained that she didn't like them because of the legend of Mañju who guarded the flower, and Saka who guarded the leaves. Out of curiosity, they defied their fate of guarding the herb alone, and managed to meet each other. At first sight, they fell in love with each other. God, exasperated by their waywardness, separated the miserable couple, and laid a curse on them as a punishment: the flowers of Mañju shall never meet the leaves of Saka again. It was said that when the couple met after death in hell, they vowed to meet each other after reincarnation. However, neither of them could keep their word, thus resulting in the flower's petals to wilt as the leaves grew.*

Shikamaru would never know but every time she saw those flowers, she thought it described Shikamaru and her future all too well. There was no future for them as so many obstacles would stand in the way.

.

"Hey lazy. Are you up for some cloudwatching?" asked Temari.

Shikamaru slowly opened his eyes and his face spread into a lazy grin. "Only if you make yourself useful and help me up."

As Temari helped to get him in a standing position, her eyes did a little analyzing. His left leg is definitely broken. There were a few bruises on his cheeks. As he grabbed out to her to maintain balance, his shirt rode up a little and she could see more bandages.

Shikamaru knew this was her way of caring. Her reputation does not allow her to show care yet, Shikamaru always knew. She would never outright ask if he was OK, instead, she had asked him to stand and walk so she can analyze the seriousness of his injuries without him noticing. But, he noticed everything when it came to her.

Coming upon a nearby stream, the two shinobis sat down, the male lying comfortably on the grass the female sitting upright. Moments went by enjoying the cool breeze but suddenly Shikamaru felt a hand running along the headband sewed onto this sleeve. The war had only started no long ago and already the headband's condition had deteriorated considerably. There were scratches everywhere and it had many times, been splattered with blood.

This headband was the reason Temari could see Shikamaru. They were on the same side now. Not Suna vs. Konoha but they are now a collective whole, the shinobi allied forces. It made her feel a little closer to Shikamaru.

"When this war ends, if we are both still alive, I'll be the head of the Nara Clan. It's troublesome and a lot responsibilities but I have to do it. My future wife will have to learn how to tend to deers and learn the secret medicines passed down. She'll have to do all the cooking because I can't. She'll have to nag me to go to work and actually accomplish something. Hell, she'll probably nag our kids too cause I have a feeling my lazy genes will be passed down to at least one brat. Are you up for the challenge?"

Termari was speechless. Had the crybaby just proposed to her? So much for romance. Sure she wasn't one to have the guy kneel and present a ring while pouring out how much he loved her but this was just so….. well…. Typical Shikamaru, she sighed. She wouldn't love him any other way.

"When this war ends, if we are both still alive, the Suna council will probably try to arrange a politically beneficial marriage with a former enemy village for me. The man who has my heart will probably have to fend of tons of suitors. Imagine my brothers! They are never going to approve of a younger, lazy, crybaby shinobi. He'll likely be threatened, choked by sand and strangled by puppets. Worse his intelligence might lower to a normal person's due to all the beatings he gets on his head with my fan. I'll probably yell at him more than telling him I love him and lecture him each time before he goes out on a mission because I will miss him and worry for his safety. Are you up for that challenge?"

Shikamaru slowly sat up and his face was inches from Temari's.

"They do call me a genius. I can handle any challenge" and gently kissed her. As they pulled apart, Temari felt something cold slip in her hands. She brought the object up closer to her face and for the first time in a very long time, her eyes were moistened. It was the Asuma's lighter. What brought the tear to actually fall was the carvings that were newly added on. It was a carving a single red spider lily, but a very unique one. It had both the petals and the leaves.

**A/N:* Wikipedia **

**I've always been fascinated with the red spider lilies and thought somehow it fit Shikatema perfectly (with a few modifications as you saw towards the end). I hope it was enjoyable for you readers as well! **

**R&R please!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ lots of love 3**


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